RATIONAL CHOICE

THEORY
MODULE IN DISCIPLINE AND
IDEAS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES

FAMILA T. MAXIMO
Developer

Department of Education • Republic of the Philippines

 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Schools Division of Benguet
Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet

Published by:
Curriculum Implementation Division

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
2020

Republic Act 8293, section 176 states that:

No copyright shall subsist in any work of the Government of the

Philippines. However, prior approval of the government agency or office wherein
the work is created shall be necessary for exploitation of such work for profit.
Such agency or office may, among other things, impose as a condition the
payment of royalties.

This material has been developed for the implementation of K-12

Curriculum through the Curriculum Implementation Division (CID)—Learning
Resource Management and Development System (LRMDS). It can be
reproduced for educational purposes and the source must be acknowledged.
Derivatives of the work including creating an edited version, an enhancement or
a supplementary work are permitted provided all original work is acknowledged
and the copyright is attributed. No work may be derived from this material for
commercial purposes and profit.

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 PREFACE
This module is a project of the Curriculum Implementation Division
particularly the Learning Resource Management Section, Department of
Education, Schools Division of Benguet which is in response to the
implementation of the K to 12 Curriculum.
This Learning Material is a property of the Department of Education-
CID, Schools Division of Benguet. It aims to improve students’ performance
specially in understanding the theories of social sciences under the subject
Discipline and Ideas in Social Sciences. This module is designed to fit both
home study and home education.

Date of Development : May 2020

Resource Location : CAR-LRMS
Learning Area : Disciplines and Ideas in the Social
Sciences
Grade Level : 11
Learning Resource Type : Module
Language : English
Quarter/Week : Second/1st week
Learning Competency/Code : Predict the social consequences of
decision making based on scarcity.
(HUMSS_DIS 11-IVa-6)

a. Determine possible choices of a certain problem.

b. Apply a better way of weighing choices to be able to choose
in a more rational way.
c. Make a decision that may help solve the problem of scarcity.

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The developer wishes to express her gratitude to those who help in the
development of this learning material. To Isra Sad-o for unselfishly sharing her
skill of drawing. And of course, the fulfillment of this learning material would not be
possible without these people who gave their support, help and cooperation
:

DIVISION LRMDS STAFF:

MELVIN L. ALFREDO ANTOINETTE D. SACYANG

Librarian II Project Development Officer II

SONIA D. DUPAGAN
EPS-LRMDS

CONSULTANTS:

ROSE N. ANAPEN
EPS II
Aral.Pan. Coordinator

RIZALYN A. GUZNIAN, EdD

Chief, Curriculum Implementation Division

NESTOR L. BOLAYO
Public Schools District Supervisor
OIC- Office of the Assistant Schools Division Superintendent

BENILDA M. DAYTACA, EdD, CESO VI

Assistant Schools Division Superintendent
OIC – Office of the Schools Division Superintendent

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page

COPYRIGHT NOTICE ii

PREFACE iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

TITLE PAGE 1

What I need to Know 2

What I Know 3

What’s In 4

What’s New 5

What is it 6

What’s More

Activity 1 7

Assessment 1 7

Activity 2 8

Assessment 2 8
Activity 3 9
Assessment 3 9

What’s I Have Learned 10

What’s I Do 10
Assessment 11

Additional Activities 12

Answer Key 13

References 14

Feedback Box 15

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 RATIONAL CHOICE
THEORY
MODULE IN DISCIPLINE AND
IDEAS IN SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRADE 11

FAMILA T. MAXIMO
Developer

Department of Education • Republic of the Philippines

 What I need to Know

Making a choice could be a privilege as there are marginalized

sector that may not have a choice at all. But even if it is a privilege,
making choices could be mind boggling. It may be simply choosing to buy
a black pen or a blue one. Much more when going to the market with
limited budget. But do you know that considering some other factors and
applying a method of choosing may help you make a better choice so it
will have a better impact not only to yourself but to others and much
more to nature?

To fully understand what the statement mean, you will have to go

through what Rational Choice Theory is, what are it’s strength and
weaknesses and how to choose in a more rational way. In the process,
you’ll be expecting different activities and exercise to fully understand
this theory.

2
 What I Know

To start with, let us see how much you know about Rational Choice
Theory (RCT) but don’t worry about not getting much at this point
because this can’t be use to definitely measure your knowledge about
this topic.
True or false: Answer True if you think that the Statement is True. False
if you think it is false.
__________1. The predominant focus of RCT is the result of the decision.
__________2. The outcome of the individual's action according to RCT can
be anchored on the strategy available to them.
__________ 3. Game theory is a tool related to RCT used in economy to
understanding individual’s behavior.
__________ 4. RCT talks about whether one’s choice is evil or not.
__________ 5. One of the disadvantage of RCT is it forces one to be
explicit about assumptions that are often left implicit
in verbal arguments.
__________6. Psychologist focuses on bounded rationality.
__________7. The essence of RTC is when people, who are in situation
that they need to make decision, would do what they think
will have the best result.
__________8. One reason why an individual would copy methods by those
who are successful is that they cannot have all the rational
capacity time, and emotional detachment to rationally
choose.
__________ 9. Psychologist argued that emotional detachment is
necessary in making choices to solve a certain problem.
__________10. One of the disadvantage of RCT is that it doesn’t have
empirical records.

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 What’s In

Let’s see how much do we recall about psychoanalysis.

Associate the word listed on the left with the assigned color to the
definitions on the wheel. Color the wheel accordingly.

Id-Green
Ego -Red
Superego -blue
Conscience -yellow
Unconscious- white
Libido - violet
Dream - orange
Psychoanalysis -pink

Psychoanalysis is just one among the dominant approaches and ideas in

social sciences. Through this approach we were able to understand human
behavior. There are many other approaches of social sciences apart from
psychoanalysis and one among the many is called Rational Choice Theory.

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 What’s New

Read the scenario and answer the questions below.

You are a grade 11 student and as a student, you are subjected to the
rules and regulations of your school. One of the focuses of your school this year
is to reduce absenteeism among its students. As for you, you have already
incurred 4 absences in just a month. The designated guidance at school had
already warned of your absences and that your case will be referred to your
parents. You don’t want your parents to know about your absences because they
have already warned you about it. It shouldn’t be a problem but your close friend
called you to help him up because his motorbike broke on his way to school. You
know for sure that you’ll miss about 3 subjects or even more if you’ll go to his aid
and that if you don’t help him, he’ll hate you.

Questions:
What possible choices can you make?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________.

What are the disadvantages and advantages of each choices?

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
____________________________

What will you do?

___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________

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 What is it

Rational Choice Theory (RCT) is a theory where one has to rely on reasons to
calculate what best meets one’s interest.
Three Pillars as to whether an individual’s action could be anchored (De La
Cruz et., al., 2002)
Availability of strategies.
Preferred result which may be based on others experience.
Belief towards others preferences.
Views
Behavioralists – Observable behavior should be the focus of analysis.
Any explanation of behavior should be susceptible to empirical testing
Economists – According to Ward, Economists recognize the game theory as the
most important tool. The center of the game theory is strategic independence,
where one’s choice of strategy may affect someone’s best choice or vice
versa. (De La Cruz, et. al., 2016)
Mainstream Variant of RCT – individuals have rational capacity, time and
emotional detachment which are necessary to make the best thing to do.
RTC force implicit assumption as explicit.
RTC approach provides a system in constructing explanations.
RTC uses a framework of explanation across different discipline of social
sciences and other field of study.
Criticisms
The following were critiques presented by Ward (De La Cruz, et. al.,2016).
Heretics Critique – Herbert Simon argued that man’s rationality is bounded.
Due to limited information time and cognitive capacity, an individual has to
use standard procedure as guide to rational action.
Sociologists Critique – Individual’s function is not based on individual’s choice
but based on the function of social structure.
Mainstream Political Science’s Critique – decisions could be influenced what
many people may prefer.
Psychologist Critique – Individuals don’t often act rationally. Motives of
individuals do not necessarily reflect self-serving interest since individuals
frequently act altruistically in political life.

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 What’s More

Activity 1
Reread the problem on page 3

Assessment 1
Please answer the following based on your assessment to the scenario on page
4.
What will be the end result of your choice if
You will help your friend
_________________________ ________________________
_________________________ ________________________
You will not help your friend
_________________________ ________________________
_________________________ ________________________
According to the criticism of sociologist point of view, what could be the
reason why you’ll tend to help your friend?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________.
Personally, what is the very reason why you’ll tend to help a friend in need?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________.

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 Activity 2
Go back to the activity given on page 3. Let’s assess your answer step by step.

CHOICES Report to school Do not Report to

school
Help your Friend A B

Do not help your C D

friend

Choice:

Assessment 2
Fill the table below
Copy the decision you Write the letter of your
made earlier: choice now

Choice Made

Write the possible

consequence of
your choice

Compare your answer with a classmate. Are they the same? Or different? Dis-
cuss your answer. What could have contributed for the similarity or differ-
ences of your answer?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
____________________

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 Activity 3
Instruction: Read the scenario and answer the questions below.

Scenario: Your house is already old, though, most of the materials of the house is
still good. In fact, the floor and the beam are still strong. Only, the ceiling is drip-
ping and some of the wooden frames had given up. You love the house so much
that it is hard for you to have it demolished. It’s the house you’ve grown up with
so it is full of good memories. Around your house are good pine trees that can be
used for construction. That is why woods to use in constructing a new house is
not a problem. Besides, you can make use of the old materials of the house if you
are to build a new one. But you are caught in a dilemma of whether to have the
house fixed or totally changed it. You know for sure that renovating an old house
is more expensive than building a new one. What will you do?

Choices Use the materials Do not use the mate-

from the old house rials from the old
house
Renovate the House A B

Totally change the C D

house

Assessment 3
Based on the table, what are the choices?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
What will you do? and why?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
In your opinion, how does your decision help in solving the problem of
scarcity?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________

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 What’s I Have Learned

Let’s see how much you’ve learn in this module. Complete the phrase below
according your own learning.

In making choices we must ______________________________________.

The Choice we make has __________________________________________.
Our Choices can be affected by _____________________________________.

What’s I Do

Research on the policy of your Barangay regarding the conservation of your

natural resources. Assess its implementation and make a prediction using the
principle of RCT. (10pts). (Please refer to the rubrics on page
Policy:
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_______________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
__________
Implementation process:
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
____________________________.
Prediction/s: _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
__________________.

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 Assessment

Complete the diagram below: (10 points) (it will be the discretion of the
teacher to give points should the student presented more than what is asked for.

3 factors that influences one’s

4 Weaknesses / disadvantages of

RATIONAL CHOICE THE-

3 Strengths / Advantages of RCT

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 Additional Activities

Additional Activities

Reflection: Write your reflection about RCT as an approach of social sciences

with a minimum of 500 words. (How do you think RCT would impact others and
nature). Please use a separate sheet. Find the rubric below as reference.

10 points 4 3 2 1
Rubrics
Organization Ideas are Ideas are pre- Ideas is not Hardly under-
presented sented quite clearly stated stand the point
clearly with clearly with but can be quite of the essay
minimal gram- quite a number understood. and grammati-
matical errors. or grammatical Grammatical cal error is very
errors error is evident. evident.

Quality of infor- Information Given infor- Information is

mation given is clearly mation is relat- not quite related
related to the ed to the topic to the topic with
topic. Claims with at least 1 no supporting
are supported supporting evi- evidences given
with 2 or more dence.
evidences.
Source All sources are Sources are No source was
accurately doc- documented documented.
umented but did not fol-
low proper for-
mat
This rubrics can also be use d should you assign points to the other activities given.

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 13
1.It uses mathematical calculation to make predictions.
2.It encourages one to be strategic.
3. Full analysis of situation is taken into consideration in
taking course of action.
It RTC force implicit assumption as explicit.
RTC approach provides a system in con-
structing explanations.
RTC uses a framework of explanation across
1.Rationality is bounded
2.Individual function is based on the function of so-
Other advantages
cial structure
3. Decisions can be influenced
4. Individuals don’t always act rationally
1.Availability of strategies.
2.Preferred result which may be based on
others experience.
3.Belief towards others preferences.
Post Assessment
True
False False
True True
True True
True False
False False
False True
True True
True True
False False
What’s in? What I Know?
Answer Key
 References

Akhelish Ganti, Rational Choice Theory, updated April 29, 2020,

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rational-choice-theory.asp.

Arleigh Ross D. Dela Cruz, PhD, Cecile C. Fadrigon, PhD and Diana
J. Mendoza, PhD. Discipline and Ideas in the Social Sciences. Quezon
City. Phoenix Publishing House, Inc. 2016, 54-58.

Carlos Peña Tatel Jr., Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences,
Rex Books Store, Manila, 2016.

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For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education – Schools Division Office of Benguet

Wangal, La Trinidad, Benguet

Telefax: 074 422 6570 (telefax)

Telephone: 074 422 2001

Email Address: benguet@deped.gov.ph

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